Catching up
by bloodypleasure
Summary: Lee Taemin and Kim Kibum find that that sometimes things need to catch up with eachother before anything can be done.  Contains OCs Cyma Hanna and Kristine Catsky  Het AU slightly OOC rated M for future chapters
1. Chapter 1

"Hey Kristy!" a brown-haired teenager ran into the glass door. "Wow, not even going to warn me?" he scolded the smaller blond in front of him. She turned looking very annoyed and flipped a stray lock of her bangs out of the way. She tilted a hip slightly before resisting the urge to yell at him…barely.

"And when exactly would I have time to do that Taemin?" She rolled her eyes before turning back to waiting for her popcorn to pop in the microwave. "You barely _breathed_ let alone give me a chance to respond. Besides it's KRISTINE not 'Kristy.'" Taemin waited until he was sure that she wasn't looking to stick his tongue out at her. "What are you five?" she said laughing a bit. Taemins' eyes went wide.

"Holy - your side kick!" Taemin said grinning. Kristine burst out laughing "What?"she waved her hand in front of her face slightly as she tried to breathe.

"It's Psychic Taemin. Side kick is the guy that helps the superhero." Kristine kept laughing slightly shaking her head as Taemin frowned slightly. He lightly punched her arm. Kristine laughed again and knocked him back before pointing at the microwave. "It's _reflective_. As in _I can see you_." she repressed a happy cheer as it beeped and she pulled out the fully popped bag of popcorn and headed into the dark living room where _SAW 6_ was getting ready to be played. "Time to get the crap scared out of mee!' Kristine half sang. Taemin laughed and sat on the couch.

"You suck at singing just so you know." Taemin pulled Kristine to lie in front of him on the large couch as he wrapped his arms around her waist and set his head on her shoulder. Kristine laughed as she reached for the remote and pressed play.

"Just so you know that is _literally_ your job, not _mine_." Kristine laughed at her own joke and smiled as she felt him laugh though her back. On the spur of the moment she got up ignoring Taemin's protests, handing him the popcorn and changed the movie to _UNDERWOLD_. Sitting back down only to get back up to get a blanket and turning up the thermostat three degrees. Taemin had a eyebrow cocked.

"Does _three_ _degrees_ actually even matter?" he asked as he pulled her back in the same position as before. "teddy bears should be envious of you, your THAT cuddly." Taemin laughed as sneaked a piece of popcorn as the beginning credits rolled out. Kristine yawned slightly and glanced at the clock. '_Is this a good idea? It's nearly midnight...'_ Kristine put out of her mind, besides it wouldn't be the first time they fell asleep on the couch. Kristine found it hard though, to pay attention to the movie she had seen multiple times when Taemins' body was so close to her that she could actually _feel_ him breathing, on her neck lightly and his chest pressing slightly harder against her back. Normally being this close to someone along with their arms being tight around her would completely tick her off...but it was her Tae. Favoritism is a _beautiful_ thing. As the movie went on she relaxed onto Taemins' back and found out she could feel his heartbeat too. The steady pounding seamed to synchronize with her own heartbeat and smiled to herself. She laid her head on the upper part of Taemins' arm as he readjusted to get confortable. As the movie went on Kristine knew the dramatic and action parts, not because she was paying attention but because Taemin's heartbeat would speed up slightly. Kristine turned her head and kissed Taemins jaw in affection, surprising him. "What was that for?' Taemin had a half-smile on his face as his dark eyes looked at Kristine.

"Just happy things turned out the way that they did, considering all that happened." Kristine replied and rubbed her jaw twice on Taemin's arm before going back to laying her head back down, smiling at his chuckle.

"I'm happy too Kristy, Saranghae Yo." Taemin kissed the crook of her jaw near her ear and Kristine pulled the blanket over them happy and sure she had made the right choice.

'_I am __**not**__ late, until I see my alarm clock I refuse to say I'm late.' _Kristine thought as she put a magenta tank top on and pulled on a light blue button up. She was late for a date to meet up with Cyma, a old friend from high school who said she had someone she wanted her to meet. Kristine buttoned up her light blue dress shirt and black slacks, with a interview after the 'date' with Cyma she had a interview. An _important_ interview. Kristine brushed her brown hair into a smooth ponytail, taking a stray lock of hair, she wrapped it around the elastic to hide it and tucked it in back into the ponytail. After applying her make-up she rushed out to her car and started it up before running back in for her things for the interview and her wallet. Kristine drove the short distance to the cafe and turned off her car jumping when someone tapped on the glass as she put the large manilla envelope for the interview in the backseat. Turning to yell she saw a black haired girl with sunglasses and multiple blue, teal, and dark gray streaks in her hair, she also had the top part pulled back into a messy bun. _'well, it's odd but it looks damn good.'_ Kristine thought as she rolled down the window. The girl flipped her off. Kristine frowned at the girl looking closer to figure out who she was. Did she know anyone with a lip piercing, four cartilage on her left and...Kristine smiled recognizing the small tattoo on the collarbone.

"Cyma you were so close to getting hit." Kristine laughed as she came out of the car and hugged her laughing friend. Cyma smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

"What gave me away? I totally look different from high school." Kristine laughed at the understatement, she poked the small tribal like black tattoo. "Ah yes this wonderful little guy."

"I was there when you got it remember?" Kristine said as Cyma lead the way to a table with a old looking Asian. "Don't tell me..." Cyma laughed. The man stood and bowed slightly.

"I'm Kanao Sungnim. Cyma tell me your sick?" He looked concerned and Cyma laughed again. All of them sat down at the table. Kristine looked confused.

"Kanao, I said she was my _pick_." Cyma smiled as the man turned slightly red. "Anyway Krissy, this is who I want you to meet, he's my mentor." Kristine sighed from relief and held out her hand and shook the mans hand. "So you still do photography right?" Cyma asked leaning on the table after moving her sweater sleeves out of the way. Kristine noticed black on her wrist and turned her arm over, it was a small heart with wings and Kanji beneath it tattooed in.

"How many of theses do you got? Yeah I'm still doing photography but-" Kristine let go of her wrist.

"Around five tats, do you have any examples with you? I'd like Kanao to see." Kristine frowned slightly then went to her car and pulled out the manilla envelope and went back inside. "Ohh, a _envelope_!" Kristine sighed, while she looked different her random amusement at strange things certainly hadn't changed. Kano took the envelope with a polite nod then carefully started looking through them.

"So no guy in your life then Cyma?" Kristine said, noting how attractive her friend had gotten, a more slender frame,the same dark clothes, got her hair under control, but probably not under dress code. _'And to compare I'm the same dinky dork.'_ Kristen shrugged off the self doubt as Cyma spoke,

"Used to have one but Kanao caught him cheating," Cyma gave the man a little hug, Kanao smiled but didn't look up. "And since then they have to go through him." Kanao nodded.

"Good head, bad taste." Kanao muttered as Cyma pretended to be upset. "She's like my daughter Suki." Kristine laughed at their antics. "Men think good meat meant bad brain."

"So what are you doing now Cyma?" Kristine asked politely.

"I used to be a translator, now I'm Kanao's assistant." Cyma nodded slightly. "Yup nearly right out of college, I needed experience translating and Kanao's the only one who would take an American. Then after a year I got a job with a pharmaceutical company. Then Kanao lost, well that's for him to say isn't it? But after that incident," Kanao handed back the photos after looking at the last one.

"After I lost my wife she helped me keep working, hard to be sad near her." Kanao patted Cyma's hand and Kristine smiled, wouldn't put it past Cyma to affect someone that much. "She thinks of the most interesting ideas and I take it into photo's." Cyma nodded.

"So what's this to do with my photos?" Kristine asked. Cyma grinned.

"Their good." Cyma stated. Kanao laughed, it was slightly wheezy.

"Cyma, be honest. I'm getting old in years and I asked if she knew someone we could work with who could take over for me in the company." Kanao smiled. "I like your style of photos."

"Company? What company?" Kristine only felt slightly nosy as she asked.

"Oh I forgot to say didn't I? The company is called PeecH." Cyma laughed at herself. Kristine caught a surprise yell. And looked at Kanao.

"You work at PeecH? It's one of the largest international studios!" Kristine barley kept her voice level. "Did you know when you first started Cyma?" Cyma laughed loudly.

"Hell no I did- sorry." Kanao smacked Cyma's head for her language making Kristine chuckle. "I knew it was photography but I had no idea, luckily Kanao is understanding, he actually taught me Cantonese." Cyma nodded as if unknowingly getting hired at a large corporation was normal for her. "We'd love it if you could work with us too." Cyma smiled and Kristine laughed.

"I'd honestly couldn't think of anything I'd rather do."


	2. Chapter 2

"So what do we do now? Do I have to sign anything?" Kristine asked as she sat on Cymas' large couch messing with a professional camera. Cyma was in her kitchen with sinister sounds sometimes coming out. After the next strange noise Kristine got up to see Cyma with a bloody meat tenderizer with a couple drops on her face. Laughing Kristine quickly took a picture. "That made my day." Cyma looked confused. Kristine turned the camera to show Cyma with a mound of mashed meat on the slightly messy metal counter, droplets on her cheek, a innocent face with her hair slightly messy, the blood and bits of meat on the tenderizer running down as her hand was back to smack the mound again. "Look at your shirt. It's _pink with a happy face,_ with that saying."

"I don't do touchy-feely, I do ouchy-bleedy...OH!" Cyma started laughing. Kristine wiped off the blood from Cyma's face as Cyma made a face and leaned away. "Stop it, jeesh your like a little kid." Cyma stuck out her tongue.

"Wait you didn't answer my question." Cyma frowned.

"What question?" She mashed the meat into a mound in a glass bread pan next to her. Kristine cleaned off the counter slightly after putting the Camera away.

"About if I have to sign anything." Kristine prompted as she helped shape the meat. Cyma smiled as space between her fingers made a squelching noise. Kristine laughed and mimicked the move, the two sat there for a minute making noises in the meat. There was a knock on the apartment door and Cyma got a grin. "What?" Cyma giggled.

"Make it look like I just killed something." Kristine caught on and laughed and set about it, after she was done Cyma rubbed her nose smiling, which left a slight red smear. She picked up the tenderiser and answered the door and Kristine barely held laughter back when she heard a slight scream. She held the counter and her stomach laughing silently as Cyma walked back in laughing. "Guess what?" Cyma laughed out. Kristine wiped a slight tear away.

"What?" Kristine stood up and brushed of a piece of meat stuck to her gray shirt.

"My next door creeper thinks I just killed you." Cyma laughed and Kristine smiled at her humor that hadn't changed in the slightest. "But you'd have to talk to Kanao about paperwork."

"So Kanao, I have a question." Kristine handed Kanao a pair of scissors to cut the negative that he was holding. Kanao paused looking at her. "Why didn't you just hire some photographer that was already well-known? I...I don't even have experience." Kristine fidgeted as Kanao snipped the negative with the scissors. After he cut it and slipped it in the chemicals to develop he wiped his hands on a small towel and set a hand on Kristine's cheek smiling slightly.

"You need to have more self-esteem." He smiled again then patted her cheek before turning to work again. Kristine picked up a small rectangle of negative and threw it away.

"That's not the point!" Kristin muttered half irritatedly. Kanao gave a soft laugh,

"You sure? If it wasn't your more dull then I thought." he held a finger up in the dim light to her irritated intake of air. "You knew Cyma well in high school, so you know how she works, or used to. It wouldn't take long for your two to synchronize in your work. Your _not_ well known so you wouldn't mind sitting with a old man like me to help me snip negatives. Also, as immature as it is, I don't like working with people who aren't pretty." Kanao gave a slightly wheesy laugh as Kristine felt her anger drain slightly, he did have good reasons.

"Your like a grampa." Kristine mused, missing her own grandfather. "Okay I see your point."

"Of course you do. I'm right." Kanao gave more wheezing laughter to the amusement of Kristine. It was hard for Kristine to not like the slightly insane man in the half a month she knew him.

"Have you ever seen Yoda Kanao?" Kristin giggled. Kanao made a strange face.

"Seen him I have not." Kristine laughed as Kanao smiled. Kanao got up faltering a bit scaring Kristine slightly. Kanao held on her shoulder as he steadied himself then looked at her as if embarassed. "Don't tell Cyma, or Suki." Kristine nodded still surprised, Kanao smiled looking very much the age he was. Kristine's face was slightly troubled as she watched him move, finally noticing the signs of his age.

"Kanao," Kristine started but didn't know how to finish and shifted in the slightly tense atmosphere. Kanao held up a picture that showed a little boy sneaking a glance up a little girls dress, earning a surprised laugh from Kristine. "That's cute." Kanao smiled and set the picture back down.

"Shall we get your paperwork done? It's long overdue." Kanao sighed and stood. "Hate paperwork." he started muttering in Korean making Kristine smile. She stood and brushed the bottom of her pants.

"What if I help you with it?" Kristine joked. Kanao chuckled and stretched his back. She followed him into small room with a office feel. Kanao handed her what seemed like a 15 page packet stapled together. "The contract?" Kristine asked and Kanao nodded sitting in a padded leather chair sighing. Kristine eyed him as she sat in a similar char across from him. "You ok Sir?" Kanao nodded waving it away with his hands.

"Yes I'm just happy I can act the old man without worrying anyone, quite relaxing." Kanao smiled at his slight joke. Kristine nodded and took a pen to sign after flipping to the back. "Not going to read?" Kanao asked as he watched her. Kristine laughed slightly.

"Are you hiding something?" she joked. Kanao laughed.

"Just know what to expect." Kanao joked right back. Kristine flipped through the packet and sighed slightly.

"I wouldn't even understand it." Kristine smiled as Kanao seemed to snort.

"I'll explain, we go to the client, or where the client wants to shoot, so the first page and a half is to say the company isn't responsible to pay for any excessive travel, and 'in the event' of excessive travel you get hurt, PeecH isn't liable for it." Kristine nodded.

"Smart." she muttered

"The rest just explains what you'll do, and since your dealing directly with me you can take out the sexual harrasment." Kristine gave a surprised laugh. "The rest is protocol and dress code. But, as you can see with Cyma, the dress code is only for public appearances,. I learned quick she works better out of the 'monkey suit' as she calls it." Kristine signed the last page and anything that needed signed.

"I trust you not to be a jerk, or," Kristine laughed slightly. "Not to harass me. Or make me wear a 'monkey suit'." Kanao laughed with her. "I have to say you don't act like you work for PeecH." Kanao nodded as he put away her packet in a brand new manilla folder with her name on the flap.

"I don't work for PeecH." Kristine gave a surprised start.

"What?" Kristine stood quickly looking shocked.

"Calm down your just like Cyma, I _own_ PeecH. The owner left it to me two years ago when he died. I figure if I didn't act all business like before and got the company, why start now? I'm too old for that." Kanao gave a small laugh. Kristine sat back down slightly relived. "Can I ask something of you Kristine?" Kanao sat in his chair with a sigh.

"Sure, what is it?" Kristine propped her arms on her knees and leaned slightly forward.

"Cyma and I have a job in Seoul, I would like if you came with, Cyma's gotten lost so many times there, I would better if you come with." Kristine gave a short laugh.

"You're going to take me to Korea?" Kristine barely held her voice down. Channeling her inner kid she had a random spazz fit, the likes only seen of a sugar filled Cyma. Kanao laughed.

"Cyma acted the same way when we went to Tokyo." Kanao smiled at the memory.

"Your really close to Cyma aren't you." Kristine asked, Kano nodded

"She said I'm like a father to her, which is great as she's like a daughter to me." Kristine smiled "When my wife died she did most of the work telling me to go mourn, I took a month off and found that her..._charm_ had gotten PeecH into a lot of important interviews that I couldn't do, too old. I'm extremely grateful to her for that, she did much more then needed. But past that, the trip to Korea is soon, is there anything you need to do?" Kristine shook her head.

"My apartment is mostly packed anyway, I'm planning to move, I don't like living alone, it's lonely." Kanao nodded then lent forward.

"Cyma lives at a company apartment, it's rather nice and secure, and we do rather travel a lot, perhaps you could move in with her for the time being? The trip to Seoul is four months long, we're doing a photo-book." Kristine smiled, that sounded great.

"As long as Cyma isn't bothered by it." Kristine conceded. Kanao laughed.

"Don't worry if she does get upset with it, though unlikely, we'll just have to get you your own." Kanao smiled and got up slowly. "Now that's done let's finish those negatives before we go abroad. By the way do you need a passport?" Kanao led Kristine back too the darkroom as Kristine replied with a laugh.

"No, just need to update it, I studied in Korea during college," Kristine opened the door for Kanao feeling very much at ease with the old man. "I swear I'll end up calling you grandpa."

"Don't worry about it Cyma's been known on the job to call me 'Dad' to save time, rolls off the tongue quicker." He gave a laugh as he took a developed picture out and hung it up to dry.

"Why do you still do it like this? Why not digitally?" Kristine asked.

"Because an old geezer like me can't stare at a computer all day fixing mistakes, just do it right the first time." Kanao setting up another picture. "Beside this is much more welcoming then a cold computer screen." Kristine nodded and watched him work, helping every now and again.

"You denfinatly don't act like a corporate giant." Kristine commented as he murmured to his pictures. Kanao sat and seemed to think about that.

"I think it never seems like work to me, besides PeecH is an informal company. After all you've been working for a month now." Kristine chuckled.

"All I did this past month is help you out with what you can't do anymore. It's no big deal." Kristine scratched her nose shyly. Kanao tapped her forehead.

"And that helpful attitude is why I hire smaller unknown, but good people, well known means uppity." Kanao said in a fake Yoda voice making Kristine laugh.


End file.
